Mark Achler is a serial entrepreneur
who has co-founded four
companies and is a frequent
speaker, resource, and ardent
champion for the entrepreneurial
community. He is the managing
director of MATH Venture Partners
and teaches entrepreneurship
at Northwestern University’s
Kellogg School of Business. Prior to
MATH, Achler was the senior vice
president of new business, strategy
and innovation for Redbox, and
was a founding partner in an
earlier venture fund called Kettle
Partners. He has also served as

For more than 25 years, the College of Liberal Arts has recognized the outstanding achievements
of its graduates through the Distinguished Alumni Awards program. Recipients of this award
have made significant contributions to society, and their accomplishments, affiliations, and
careers honor the legacy of excellence at Purdue University and the College of Liberal Arts.

MARK ACHLER

BA 1980, History

Distinguished Alumni

president of Emmi Solutions,
president of Kinesoft Development,
and CEO and cofounder of The
Whitewater Group.

Achler is a board member of
the Jewish Community Center of
Chicago and the chairman of Camp
Chi, as well as a mentor at Embarc,
a program providing community-driven, experienced-based learning
opportunities to low-income high
school students, and TechStars, a
mentor-driven startup accelerator.

He is a founding board member
of the University of Chicago Celiac
Disease Center.

Photos on facing page, top to bottom: Aria Halilday, PhD candidate in American Studies, talks with Boyd Smith,
MFA student in electronic and time-based art. Brenda Ramirez, Outstanding Senior in the Brian Lamb School of
Communication, waits to receive her award. Nancy Gabin, associate professor and director of undergraduate
studies in the Department of History, talks with Doug Hurt, professor and head of the department. Dancers from
the Confucius Center Performing Arts Troupe entertain the crowd. Rhonda Jones, president of the Liberal Arts
Alumni Board, Dean David Reingold, and Ken Ferraro, distinguished professor of sociology and director of the
Center for Aging and the Life Course, wait to greet the Outstanding Senior in Sociology. Justin Tobias, professor
and head of the Department of Economics and senior associate dean in the Krannert School of Management,
congratulates Henry Zhao, the Outstanding Senior in Economics. Melinda Zook, professor of history (L) and
Venetria Patton, professor of English and African American Studies, head of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies,
and Provost Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion, celebrate with Andrea Matio, who majored in religious studies
and history and is the Outstanding Senior in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies.